Final chapter 

 Part 1

     A man was standing in the middle of the room with his back facing the door. He was tall, handsome, well dressed and with a serious expression on his face, nothing left of the naive teenager that he was once. It was so hard to believe that eight years had passed so fast! So many questions remained unanswered. No matter for how long did Kae Yin watch him, she couldn’t stop wondering if there had been times when he was sick, hungry, scared, times when he needed her and she wasn’t there for him. He was all right now! She could see that but it didn’t change the feeling of guilt that found home in her heart so many years ago. His eyes were reading curiously an announcement posted on one of the walls and for a moment time froze and the past took over the present:

Flashback

“Mom! Why does everybody say that I look like Kae Yin?? I don’t want to look like her!”

A young Kae Yin was watching amused how her younger brother was complaining to their mother who was busy cooking dinner.

“We are not alike at all! My hair is dark like dad’s while Kae Yin’s is brown, I’m tall, Kae Yin’s short…”

“Hey!”, Kae Yin pouted.

“What? It’s true! Right, mom?”

It was their mom’s turn to laugh.

”Mom, are you listening to me?”

“Of course my dear!”

“So...?”

“It’s because of our eyes, stupid!”, Kae Yin interfered.

“What? I’m not stupid!!”

“We can be as different as you want but everybody says that we have the same eyes!”

“That’s stupid! I don’t want to look like my older sister. It’s embarrassing!”

Their mother took both children and sat them on the couch.

“Listen to me! It doesn’t matter if you look alike or not! What truly is important is that you two are brother and sister…you love each other and that’s a bond that can never be broken. No matter what the future holds for you, you have to stay together and take care one of another, okay? Promise me! Promise me that you’ll never stop loving each other!”

“But, mom! What…”

“Just promise me!”

Both the young girl and her brother were somehow scared of their mother’s sudden seriousness and when a tear threatened to fall, they both jumped and hugged her.

“We promise, mom! We promise!”

End of flashback

     Kae Yin didn’t know if it was the shame of having broken that promise or maybe the guilt of leaving her brother alone that made her the kind of person she was today but the past was not going to change no matter what. Seeing her brother so well dressed and apparently happy made her determination vanish. After all these years, did she really have the right to come back in his life? As much as her mind screamed for her to go and hug him and just forget the past, her body failed to listen and made a step back. The sudden noise captured the man’s attention who turned around surprised. The seriousness in his eyes was soon replaced by a warm almost desperate emotion and ignoring the shock in Kae Yin’s eyes, he went and hugged her tight as if he was making a promise of never letting her go.

      “…Hyung Joon”, said a trembling whisper that never left .

      “I’m so sorry, Kae Yin! I’m sorry for not being able to protect you…for not being able to come to you sooner! It must have been so hard for you…I’ll never live your side again…I promise!”

     A sharp pain went through the woman’s body as if an arrow had just pierced her heart and in a moment she felt week, unable to move. Her legs let her down and if it hadn’t been for her brother she would have collapsed to the floor.

      “Kae Yin, are you okay? What’s wrong?? Calm down...try to breathe slower…”

     Hyung Joon was searching for any possible wounds or something to explain her sudden fall but when he met her eyes things become clear. Tears were falling uncontrollably and soon her whole body started trembling. Her younger brother’s eyes softened.

      “You’re…sorry?”, a slow voice began,”I am the one who should beg for forgiveness and yet you’re saying sorry?”

      “Kae Yin…”, the man tried to get closer but she backed off.

      “No! Listen to me!”,the woman took a deep breath and continued,” When we were little, we made a promise to mom, remember? We promised to protect and love each other no matter what because we were family! After mom and dad were…after that night, everything changed. The whole responsibility fell on my shoulders and apparently the only way out for me was breaking that promise! I let my heart be drowned in hatred, despair and I put revenge before family! No matter how much I try I’ll never be able to make up for all those years; I choose an endless battle with darkness fully aware of the fact that I could never win, but still I decided to leave behind my whole world, or what was left of it. I don’t know what happened to you, all the things you’ve been through and I can’t change anything either so I’ll understand if you hate me, if you don’t want to see me again, I’ll even understand if you choose to leave right now but please, please don’t say that you’re sorry! I should be the one who says that!”

     Hyung Joon came closer hugging her as hard as he could ignoring her weak attempts to break free.

      “Kae Yin, you don’t need to apologise to me! I would never hate you…you are my sister, you are the only family I have left! It is yourself from who you really need forgiveness. I know why you left, the sadness and frustration of having lost all your life in just one second, of having seen that murderer’s eyes just seconds before that and not being able to stop him…I never blamed you! When you left…there were so many things I didn’t know, I felt weak and mad at myself for not being able to protect you…I was just a boy who needed someone to look after him. That’s why I left! I spent many years trying to understand what really happened, trying to find you, to take care of you and when I finally did…noona, we are family, nobody can change that…but if I’ve learned something all this time we’ve been apart is that you were right! We need to stop Byun Hyun. He is a thief, a murderer…we can’t let him destroy any more lives.”

      “When did you find me?”, Kae Yin’s eyes were now clear but darker than usual.

      “A few years ago, the night you tried to kill Byun Hyun. I was there, at that hotel! I knew what you were planning and I could have easily stopped you but I didn’t want to! My heart was aching and I wanted him to pay no matter what. I thought you were going to make things right again but when you hesitated and left him alive I understood. You are so much stronger than I am…Byun Hyun needs to pay but not at the cost of us becoming monsters, just like him. Noona, you have what it takes to put him down and I’m here to help you do this! I wanted to come to you earlier but when Hyun Joong proposed you the deal to join the NCA I knew it wasn’t the right time. You needed a purpose to keep going. I’m sorry I’ve made you wait so long!”

      “Stupid!”, the woman whispered letting out a small sighed followed by a smile. The grip in Hyung Joon’s heart broke loose.

      “I’ve missed you too, noona!”

      “And Young Saeng? When did you meet him?”

      “How do you…ah yes I forgot that noona is a profiler! I met him after I left aunt’s home. He had just found out the truth about his origins when Byun Hyun sent him to study to a private high school in the US. We met in a park near New York and became really good friends. Let’s just say that after some time we realised that there are things that bounds us together and we decided to face them together. He managed to get me a scholarship and we studied together until he went back to Korea.”

      “You know there’re still things that don’t fit?!”

      “And I’m going to tell you everything, noona, but now is not the time. The others are waiting for us!”

     Hyung Joon smiled and offered Kae Yin his hand which she took without hesitation.

      “Don’t tell me that you’re Jungmin’s secret friend!”

      “He told you that? That guy sure talks a lot!”

      “It shouldn’t be only me who suffers!”

     Meanwhile, at the table, things were still tensed. The details of the plan had been revised and everything was ready. From what Hyun Joong had said, during the 2 years Kae Yin had spent in Japan, she managed to gather enough information to charge Byun Hyun for fraud. However, they all knew that a good lawyer would have obtained a deal and in a few months, maybe earlier, he would have been rehabilitated. To prevent that, the rest of the team including Minwoo were working on their own to find all possible evidences that could lead to a longer conviction.

     “So they went back to Korea?”, Jungmin was playing with his fork.

     “Yes, I talked to them this morning and apparently everything’s going as planned or even better. Minwoo knows much more than I thought and he’s working with Sanghyun trying to convince as many people as possible to declare against Byun Hyun.”

     “Are you sure we can trust him?”, Kyu Jong joined the discussion.

     “Right, there are things you still don’t know…”

     “Jungmin told me all I have to know and I trust you both. That’s why I’m asking!”

     “Yes! I wasn’t so sure before but now…I think he deserves a second chance!”

     “But, hyung, now that you’re here, who’s leading the team?”

    Jungmin’s question raised Kyu Jong’s curiosity and for a moment he forgot that he was supposed to be upset.

     “Manse!”, Hyun Joong noticed the men’s smile and raised his hands in defence.

     “Who’s Manse?”, Young Saeng intervened.

     “It’s Hyun Joong’s girlfriend!”, Hyun Joong almost choked with his food.

     “Jungmin!”

     “What?! It’s true!”, then turning to Young Saeng, “…she likes him, he likes her…it’s just a matter of time!”

    The Prince smiled mischievously.

     “I see! I never thought that Hyun Joong would be someone who believes in relationships between work colleagues but I guess first impressions can be deceiving.”, Young Saeng teased.

     “It’s not like that! Manse, even though it may seem hard to believe, she’s really good at what she does; besides, she was practically raised in the NCA. If she doesn’t know how things work there, then nobody does. We need to keep the agents from Seoul away from the Daegu headquarter for awhile and only she can do that.”, Hyun Joong was running out of explanations and desperately asking for help from Kyu Jong.

     “I’m sorry, Hyun Joong, but it’s about time you admit your feelings! Still, I think that choosing Manse to replace you while you’re here was the best choice. She’ll know how to keep everybody on schedule! She even does that to you sometimes…”

     “You too?”

    Kyu Jong laughed.

     “I’m sorry but you’re…”, Kyu Jong stopped when he saw Kae Yin holding coming to their table with what for him was a total stranger.

    As soon as they reached the table, the atmosphere changed. Young Saeng and Hyun Joong understood that at least for the moment things were all right between the two and Hyung Joon’s smile confirmed it. Jungmin was also happy for them even though he was sure that he missed a big part of the story. The only one who kept the serious look on his face was Kyu Jong. He wasn’t mad, he wasn’t even worried as before; instead of that, a new weird feeling took over his heart. He had always felt somehow protective over Kae Yin but this time was different. Her facial expression didn’t show any sign of displeasure and Kyu Jong was sure that if she didn’t trust that man, she wouldn’t have allowed him to get near, even less to hold her hand. However, despite being sure that Kae Yin was all right, the painful sting from his heart didn’t seem to want to go away.

     The man accompanying her was much younger from what Kyu Jong could see. He was well-dressed and had all the traits of a rich guy; to a certain extent he looked exactly like Young Saeng’s. If it wasn’t for the physical differences that were obvious, he would have sworn that the two of them are brothers. They seemed to get along very well two. As soon as the man got to the table, he threw the prince a cheerful look which made the latter smile as if they had had a secret conversation but without words. 

     Kyu Jong had been so busy studying the new arrived man that he didn’t even noticed that he had been staring at him for the past few seconds. Still, nobody seemed to have noticed except from Kae Yin who was confused by her partner’s sudden seriousness and Jungmin who fully understood the situation and decided to have some fun.

     “You’re going to eat him alive, hyung!”, Jungmin teased taking advantaged that no one was paying attention. Kae Yin sat down besides Kyu Jong and Hyung Joon right between his sister and Young Saeng.

     “What are you talking about?”

     “You’re treating the poor guy as a murder suspect! Well, he did come with Kae Yin but that…”

     “Stop making things up, Jungmin! I didn’t do anything!”

     “If you say so, hyung!”, Jungmin laughed.

    As soon as everybody settled down, Hyung Joon turned to Kyu Jong and raised his hand.

     “I guessed we haven’t been introduced yet, right? I am…”

     “He’s my secret friend! I’ve told you about him earlier, remember?”

    The prince noticed Jungmin’s smirk and decided to play along.

     “This is Kyu Jong-shii! He’s Kae Yin’s partner!”

     “Nice to finally be able to meet you, Kyu Jong! Young Saeng told me a lot about you and I was really looking forward to get to meet you myself. I also want to thank you for taking care of Kae Yin all these weeks! I’m sure it wasn’t easy…she tends to be really stubborn sometimes.”

    Kae Yin wanted to protest but her brother’s innocent smile made her give up. In her mind, she kept questioning Kyu Jong’s weird attitude. While he had never been as loud as Jungmin, it wasn’t his style to be so reserved, almost incredulous. She couldn’t stop worrying about her partner’s sudden seriousness. On the other hand, Kyu Jong felt somehow funny to receive thanks for doing what he considered right, especially since the thanks came from a total stranger. It made him feel abandoned as if he was no longer needed. Or was it because the other man seemed to know Kae Yin better than him? He was sure, Kae Yin would react when she was called stubborn but she didn’t. Maybe he really didn’t know her that well!

     “It’s nothing! Nice to meet you too!”

    Meanwhile, Young Saeng and Jungmin were having fun in their own way exchanging amused looks which didn’t passed unnoticed by Kyu Jong.

     “What?!”

     “Nothing, hyung! It just feels nice to be here, all together…isn’t that right, Young Saeng hyung?

     “I couldn’t agree with you more, Jungmin!”

     “You two are up to something! Those wicked smiles aren’t just for fun!”, Hyung Joon pointed accusatory at the prince.

     “It must be your imagination, Hyu…Hyun Joong, how about we go over the plan again for them?”

     “I’m not falling for it either! There’s something going on but it’s going to have to wait. We don’t have time for this! Now, listen! Our main objective is to get a video confession from Byun Hyun. This may be our only chance since one of the rules of meeting with Xiao Cheng is to bring as few guards as possible. Before I forget, I don’t want any of you to touch Xiao Chen. Everything will be done as soon as he leaves. He is one of the most dangerous people in Taiwan and unlike Byun Hyun’s case, getting him to jail won’t do any good. He has men infiltrated everywhere and we will only get ourselves in serious troubles. Besides, the Taiwanese police are after him for years; I’m sure they’ll manage to stop him eventually. Interfering would do more bad than good.”

     “But hyung, how do we know that he’s going to leave before Byun Hyun?”, asked Jungmin.

     “They are playing on Xiao Chen’s field. Not even Byun Hyun would dare to challenge him. There are rules in this game and my father knows them to well. After all, he has been playing it for years!”

     “Young Saeng is right! Leaving first will be considered a sign of disrespect and he’s not going to risk making such a stupid mistake. Anyway, after Xiao Chen’s gone, it’s your turn, Kae Yin! You have to make him talk while Jungmin videotapes everything. Young Saeng already gave me a plan of the building so I’ll find a place from where we can get a clear view. I’ll stay with Jungmin in case he gets discovered and Kyu Jong, you’re going with Kae Yin!”

     “Got it!”

     “How about me?”, Hyung Joon protested. “I’m not standing this one out!”

     “Yes, you are!”, Kae Yin turned to her brother. “You have no idea how to fight! Besides, if you come, you’ll only get in our way.”

     Kae Yin’s decisive tone made everybody quiet mainly because they all knew that she always had things her way no matter what. All except for the one who knew her most.

     “That’s not fair! Young Saeng doesn’t know how to fight either but he’s coming!”

    Young Saeng wanted to intervene but Kae Yin was faster.

     “Young Saeng will probably be brought by Byun Hyun and refusing him will only raise suspicions, but don’t worry, as soon as Xiao Chen’s gone, we’ll make sure to get him out as faster as we can.”

     “But, noona, that’s not fair!!”

    Hyung Joon’s winning, however, didn’t cover Kyu Jong’s surprise.

     “Noona?? He’s your brother??”

    Kae Yin turned around, still visibly upset by her brother’s rebellion.

     “Of course, he’s my brother! Who did you think he was?!”

     “I just…!”

    “It makes sense since these two never let Hyung Joon explain who he was!”, Hyun Joong defended him pointing accusingly at the two jokers.

    Both Young Saeng and Jungmin started laughing, earning curious looks from the others and Jungmin, a short kick under the table from Kyu Jong.

     “That’s for trying to trick me!”, he whispered.

     “But, hyung, I didn’t do anything! You’re the one who assumed he’s someone else!”

    Suddenly, a soft melody interrupted the bickering.

     “It’s mine”, the prince said, getting out his phone. “It’s Byun Hyun, again. He has been calling me all morning. I think I really have to go now or he’ll start suspecting things! Let’s just hope that everything goes as planned! And Kae Yin…I think it’s really important for Hyung Joon to be there. As long as he stays with Kyu Jong and Hyun Joong, he’ll be all right. Just don’t take this chance away from him.”

    Kae Yin sighted. ”All right then but if you don’t listen to Hyun Joong, I’m going to send you to the North Pole and leave you there.”

     “Of course, noona! I’ll do as you say!!”

    Young Saeng stood up and got ready to leave.

     “Now I really have to go. You can stay here as much as you want and when you’re done just tell one of the waiters here. They’ll take you to a house near the meeting place. There you’ll get the chance to sleep a little and get ready.”

     “Take care of you, okay?”, Hyung Joon gave him a light pat on the shoulder.

     “Don’t I always?!”

    As soon as the prince left, the leader continued to inform everybody about the plan and they all left to the place, Young Saeng had told them.

    The house was not exactly what they were expecting. The area were the meeting was going to take place was in a remote part of the city, with only a few warehouses and old buildings. The driver that Young Saeng had appointed took them to what appeared to be an old mansion. Despite its size, however, the building passed unnoticed in the scenery. The amazement didn’t last long and as soon as they went in they all had a big surprise.

     “You must be kidding me!”, Hyung Joon said disappointing as he was rushing in the main hall with Jungmin following him closely.

     “This is like the old museums the history teacher used to take us in middle school. Hyung, hurry up! You have to see this!”,Jungmin shouted at a surprised Kyu Jong who was still at the door.

    The entire house was full with old and dusty furniture and to a certain extent had a weird 18^th century atmosphere. It was obvious that nobody had lived in there for quite a while and the last persons who did so were definitely not Koreans. Jungmin went straight in the living room where a huge red couch was covering most of the room and strange portraits were hanged everywhere.

     “This is so scary!! I never thought that something like this even exists in Korea. How did Young Saeng found this? I really need to have a talk with him after all this is over!”

    “I’m sure I’ve seen some of this in a horror movie I saw a few weeks ago!”,Jungmin found some old chandeliers that were never used.

    Kyu Jong was looking at some pictures on the fireplace while Kae Yin was just standing in the door watching the two maknaes as they were jumping from one place to another. Hyun Joong was still outside talking to the driver that took them there. Just then Jungmin jumped on the couch causing a huge wave of dust to rise in the air.

     “Jungmin!”, shouted Kae Yin almost chocking from the lack of air. “Stop it! Both of you! It’s hard enough to breathe without you too jumping from side to side. Now go up, find a bedroom and take some rest. It’s still early and we’re going to need our forces back for tonight! We’ll meet back here around 8 pm. And Hyung Joon...”

     “Yes, commander?!”, Hyung Joon laughed.

     “Try not to break anything! Especially the windows! We don’t need any problems while we stay here.”

     “Come on, noona, it was only once!!”

     “Go! Now!”

    Kyu Jong came closer while watching his best friend dragging Hyung Joon on the stairs.

     “To think that I was afraid he had changed…”

     “I guess some things never change!”

     “Are you talking about your friend right now?!”

     “He wouldn’t be Jungmin if he was any less excited…even when we’re so close of facing the biggest threat ever. That’s part of his charm!”, Kyu Jong smiled.

    Kae Yin threw him a ‘whatever’ glare and yawned.

     “You should get some sleep! I’ll make sure to wake you up when it’s time.”

     “Fine! Talk to you later then!”

    Just then Hyun Joong came into the room, eyes not leaving his cell phone.

     “Is everybody up, already?!”

     “Kae Yin just went up and judging from the noises I think that Hyun Joong and Jungmin decided to share a room.”

     “Don’t worry about the noises! I have a feeling that they’ll stop soon!”

     “What do you think she’s going to do to them?!”

     “As long as they stop…”

     “What did the guy say?”

     “He’s going to bring us the camera for Jungmin and some weapons later. I really hope we won’t need them but it won’t harm to make sure. After that, we are on our own.”

     “Are you sure that the police will come at the right time?”

     “The police will come when we call it! We can’t be sure of anything!Kyu Jong, I wanted to talk something with you. About Kae Yin…”

     “I already know! I’m not going to leave her alone…he’s not going to touch her!”

     “I’m counting on you to keep her safe! She said she’s got everything over control and I trust her but just in case…”

     “I know! Let’s just focus on putting that wretch where he belongs!”

     “It’s settled, then! You’d better go to sleep too! That guy told me that somebody cleaned the bedrooms this morning so we should be able to rest properly and maybe even take a hot bath. I’m going to call to check if everything’s all right in Daegu and then I’ll follow you!”

    Kyu Jong was ready to go upstairs when he suddenly turned around.

     “Hyun Joong…”

     “I’ll tell you about him when this is over. I promise!”

    He nodded and went upstairs. There were several doors leading to the hall; the one that caught the man’s attention was an almost opened one. Jungmin was snoring loudly while his right foot almost reached Hyung Joon’s face, a funny view that on any other day would have make him laugh his heart out but not that day. The following room was empty. He went in and just threw himself on the bed. There were only a few hours left but unlike his other missions he felt nothing now, not even the slightest feeling of fear or excitement. Maybe it was because of the tiredness or maybe he just wanted everything to be over as soon as possible. His body was asking for a break but his mind was far from listening. A strange feeling wasn’t letting him calm down. Something bad was going to happen that night!

Author's note:

   Sorry for the long wait! Now the whole team is finally together and its all set for the final move. Will they be able to achieve their goal or will sacrifices be needed in order to make peace with the past?! A storm will be unleashed as two major secrets are about to be revealed and old wounds be sealed once and for all! Will our team be ready to make the right decisions or will they have to pay a price to get thigs right once again!!

Feel free to criticise or make assumptions about the final part!! Enjoy reading!!